Iron County register., 1887-02-10

not for ten years been favored with
Congressional honors; the time seemed
ripe: he would put his future to the
touch. He thought it best to take the
outgoing tide. for if he waited until in
two years it should set toward the
Capitol again, something that he
dreaded within his heart might then
come to pass; John Earnings flaming
words might light him wrathfully to
the people then. That he secretly
feared might prove disastrous.
1t surely seemed strange enough that
this great beaming bulk of ambitious
earth should feel a chill of trepidation
run over him with the thought, but it
was not John Earling physically that he
feared. it was his principles, his hatred
of indirection and his tongue. Secret
" he revered the young mans scru-
pulosity; all his life he had reverenced
honesty; from the bottom of his being
worship of it like hidden incense
had wavered up, but at the top the
! fires of greed. the lust for power, o er-
Tapped and smothered it.
The campaign opened; an agent
from Joel with a well-lined wallet ap-
peared in Chicago; presently bio
graphical, lauditory sketch of the life
of Joel Whitney, one of the self-made
successful men of Northern Illinois,
appeared in Chicago's heaviest daily.
1t was copied throughout the Open
stone district; added to, embellished,
and reborn. The flame was started;
Joel fed it with golden fuel; his agents
worked in all the primaries: brought
the nominating convention to Open
stone; set it up in the Openstone court
house, and set political OpenstOne on
fire.
Joel beamed and sweat; Mrs. Whit
ney. who had compassed the situation,
flushed, and paled, and saffroned, and
shook. and Julius Popp, unable to in
dicate the distracted condition of his
senses by the position of his hat, car
ried it in his hand. The hotels were
alive with Joers men; the delegates
were dined, and wined, and smoked,
and soaked; no such a man as Joel had
probably ever lived before; his benev-
olence was unusual, his modesty su-
preme, his business capacity phenom-
email, and his ability to carry the dis
trict as regarded money unequaled.
He IUaS nominated.
That night there was great bonfire
lit upon the square, that plunged its
huge tongues up into the darkness and
relit a thousand little fires on cornice,
sign and window. The streets were
aswarm with people, wedging. passing,
smoking, grinning, shaking hands,
grouping, melting, knotting again.
with here and there brawled up above
the murmur a drunken 'Hurrah for
Whitney,"
Presently Joel was upon a platform
l.,
he was grateful, he was purple,
and the people rOared. How could
they refrain? He was so happy,
tirei OpenstOne was proud, at least
part of it was much elated and
seemed diving to yell.
Absalom Heater listened awhile and
then went home, and taking the twins
in his arms, shuddered; this unwonted
eruption in Joel, to him, seemed some
thing appalling. But Julius was be-
side himself with ecstasy; he would
! listen a moment, his mouth would
slowly drop open, then it would yell.
John Earring did not attend; all day
rumOrs of JOePs progress in the con-
ventiOn came up to the Office of Bower
Il Earling, and when the final an
nOuncement was brought in by the dry
mouth of Salvo Popp. Judge Bower
threw his head back and laughed, and
a shadow went over the junior part
Eers face. To one the idea of Joel
going to Congress appealed like a
piece of ridiculous humor. to the 9TH
er. knowing his moral and mental un-
fitness. like a dark injustice to the
people. But John Earling worked on.
and in the evening was still at work
when he heard, coming in through the
open windows, the hum and shouts of
the concOurse that poured about the
streets, the music of band playing
upon the hotel veranda across the
square, and presently saw the tarry
volume of smoke and flame from Joel
bonfire leaping up beyond the tree
tops of the courthouse park. He
could family hear. coming through
the huZZas and noises of the people,
the suck and hiss and crackle of the
flames as they fed upon the huge heap
of tar-smeared barrels and boxes: then
Joel speaking. and the roaring bursts
of applause, pierced through by the
shrill calls and yowls and yelIs of boys
as by crooked, awful needles.
He ceased writing. The noises Jared
him: and taking up Il book he at
tempted to fix his thoughts upon it
Bat in vain; thoughts of his own would
intrude. and he laid the book down.
and. leaning his forehead in his hands
upon the desk. let them have their
way. He thought of the life of this
man whose voice he could hear, who
was feeding the populace on froth, on
prejudice. on gibes. Could it be that
he was the peoples choice? He seemed
to be. Was his life a success? 1t seemed
to be- but there, ike half the worlds
shows, did it not end? Was life sue
cess that helped only itself? OF what
actual worth was it in realm
where millions needed help? Nay,
counting how sorely it gnawed the
race, had not the space it took in the
world been better.always space? If good
were the finer, loftier, nobler part of ere
alton. n life's success and greatness
must surely be measured by the good it
should achieve! And vet it was
weary, weary world; he was tired. he
was worn: the zest and inspiration of
his life seemed gone; he knew that for
weeks he had pushed himself forward
without spirit, that his feet had
dragged, and that hopes ringing
guess-work seemed little louder than a
whisper. He was spent and lonesome;
what had he ever had but toll? What
of love, of home, of brother, of sister,
of father or mother? o Celeste! Ce-
leste! And she, too, what sorrows had
crossed her path, and what grief
must now be feeding on her gentle
heart! Oh, if he were but brave enough,
if he only could be cruel enough to 90
to heri He must at last; no matter